Comments on: Seth Godin’s Linchpin: An Unsettling Call to Be Indispensable

By: brock

brock — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:42:49 +0000

I'm listening to the book now. I really like it.

By: John Bergquist

John Bergquist — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:36:16 +0000

So I wanted announce that I have shipped copies to Nate (BigBags) and Elizabeth. I wanted to ship copies to all of you that commented but Nate's story stuck with me and I knew Elizabeth could find a linchpin if she knew what to look for (I have a feeling she is one herself). This has been one of my favorite posts so far on this blog. Thanks so much for participating, all of you.
John

By: John Kerr

John Kerr — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:15:49 +0000

I got some extra cash on Saturday playing for a fund raiser, and decided to take the gas money they gave me. Spent it on Linchpin because I realized I can't wait around to see if I win a copy here. If I do manage to get a copy, I'll donate both of them to local libraries. I've already started reading it and feel confident it will help me work my way into all kinds of situations where people will find me indispensable.

By: Chad Waite

Chad Waite — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:28:27 +0000

BigBags- I am taking several classes from Stephen Whyte right now as well, I completely agree with you. He is so different in his teaching style and stays very current in trends and technology.

In our Communication Capstone class, Mr. Whyte has us read the NY Times daily and quizzes us on its content. He makes us stay informed and up-to-date and that alone has been the best lesson I've learned from him. Linchpin indeed.

By: Elizabeth Chapin

Elizabeth Chapin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:20:45 +0000

I appreciate the encouragement and would consider myself a linchpin – especially in my family which is one of the most important constitutive units of society. I look froward to reading the book.

By: John Bergquist

John Bergquist — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:19:57 +0000

Seth, Thank you for jumping in here. I agree that Professor Whyte sounds like an incredible instructor. He reminds me of my own instructors in prep school who daily mixed things up. I can only imagine how far his students will go.

By: sethgodin

sethgodin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:48:28 +0000

Thanks for this generous review, John, and thanks to everyone who kicked in with a story. I particularly like the way Professor Whyte is going above and beyond, probably annoying the dean along the way, and giving so much to the class.

By: John Bergquist

John Bergquist — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:24:15 +0000

Thanks everyone for the great linchpin stories. I have enjoyed each one! To tell the truth I wish I had more copies to give away. I will announce the winners later today.

By: BigBags

BigBags — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:36:57 +0000

I've been in college for almost 5 years now. It took a while for me to decide what I wanted to do with my life. As I was registering for classes for this, my last semester of college, my adviser recommended that I take a Public Relations Capstone class being taught by a new professor. I took his advice, and registered for Stephen Whyte's class.

This semester my world has been rocked.

Seth Godin says that our education system is ineffective and broken. He's right. However, Mr. Whyte is an exception to the rule. For the first time in 5 years of college, Mr. Whyte is helping me find value in the things he's teaching.

He doesn't lecture from a textbook. He doesn't drone on about past experiences. He is providing current and relevant information and supplying the opportunity for me to put it into practice. By the end of the semester, I will not only have a wealth of knowledge because of him, but I will likely have a fantastic resume, connections within my field, and probably a job... which, in this economy, is saying something... especially for recent college grads.

If a professor who inspires, motivates and prepares his students in a unique and meaningful way isn't a linchpin, I don't know what is.

Oh, and did I mention, he scored a grant to take myself and 6 other students to NYC over spring break to help us network with top executives? How's that for being indispensable?

Mr. Whyte is not only a linchpin, he's a perfect example of everything that is right with education.

By: Alfred

Alfred — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:39:53 +0000

Being a fan of Seth I read many of the reviews and found one (Anne Jackson at Flowerdust.net) that I thought would appeal to a friend, interest her in following up and perhaps read Linchpin. Her reply back says it all.

"You will never, ever know how much I needed to read that today. It brought me to tears for many reasons. That'a all I want to do with my life is "step up" and do the things most others don't care about."

One more involved, billions to go.